Container



Feb. 24, 1953 J. REYNOLDS CONTAINER 2 SHEETS-SHEET .l

Filed Oct. 8, 1947 lflllll J. L. REYNOLDS Feb. 24, 1953 CONTAINER 2SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1947 Jyfa Patented Feb. 24, 1595.3

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER Julian L. Reynolds, Richmond, Va.Application october s, 1947, serial No. 778,596

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an all metal foil single use container adaptedfor containing and transporting liquid, such as, for example, milk.

The metal container of this invention is made from, for example, thinaluminum foil, so that the problem of contamination ofV flavor of milkis avoided. The application of thin aluminum foil obviates the problemof liquid absorption, a, problem common to paper containers. The use faluminum foil containers also permits an efficient and rigidpasteurization of milk while in the container. Moreover the containers,being made of thin aluminum foil, are light in weight and hence signifya minimum cost for transportation.

It is an object of this invention to provide a metal foil container fromaluminum, which is hermetically sealed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a light weight,single use, aluminum container of relatively great strength such as towithstand the stresses and strains of normal handling.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an aluminum containerhaving a top closure having an aperture therein, said aperture beingdisposed between the linear -corrugations and closed by means of asealing element adapted to be resealable.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from thefollowing disclosures taken in conjunction with the attached drawings,in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a container in ac cordance with thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the container of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale taken onthe lines 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section on ya still further enlargedscale taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale showing asuitable joint between the top and side wall of the container;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing a I modified sealingstructure;

Fig. 10 is a View showing a roll of thin sheet aluminum illustrating onemanner of applying a thermoplastic adhesive compound thereto;

Fig. 11 is a dagrammatical side view showing forming or corrugatingrolls suitable for employment in making the container of the presentinvention;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing pressing and trimmingapparatus for the formed aluminum sheets produced by the rolls of Fig.11; and

Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic sectional view through a mandrel and sealingdevice suitable for use in forming the containers of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the container of Fig. 1 mayhave side walls 2l formed with stiffening corrugations 22 extendingcompletely around the container. The container may also have a covermember 23 provided with a detachable closure and sealing member 2li anda bottom cover 26. The entire aluminum container is fabricated of thinsheet yaluminum or heavy foil, i. e., aluminum having a thicknessranging from approximately .004 to .006 inch. Such thin aluminum stockhas very little resistance to bending out of the plane of the sheetstock or very little resistance to compression stresses parallel to theplane of the sheet stock. It has been found that the resistance to suchvstresses may be markedly increased by forming strengthening ribs orcorrugations 22 of special shape and disposition in the metal sheetmaking up the side walls of thfe container. The shape of the ribs isshown in Fig. 4 which is a vertical section taken through the lap joint21 for the body of the container. It has been found that these ribsshould be formed without any substantial stretching of the metal,otherwise tearing of the aluminum will occur. One manner of forming ribsin the sheet aluminum without such stretching action will be describedbelow with respect to Fig. 11. Also in forming the ribs, any sharpcorners between the original plane of the aluminum sheet and the curvedportion of the ribs' must be avoided to prevent cutting or breaking ofthe aluminum. Thus, the corner 28 in Fig. e must have a substantialradius of curvature. Furthermore, the maximum angle which the sides 29of the corrugations make with the original plane of the sheet must fallwithin rather definite limits. If this angle, indicated as angle 3i inFig. 4, is too small, the sheet is not substantially stiiened againstbending along la line crossing the corrugations, and if the angle is toogreat, the sheet of aluminum, even when formed into a container, can beeasily compressed or extended along a line crossing the corrugations ina manner similar to an accordion bellows. It has been found that if theangle 3i lies between approximately 46 and 60, the aluminum is stiffenedmaterially against bending along a line crossing the corrugations andalso resists compression and tension stresses in the original plane ofthe sheet along a line crossing the corrugations. The cold working ofthe aluminum metal also stiffens this metal such that a container madetherefrom has remarkable resistance to stresses in all directions inspite of the fact that the metal stock is extremely. thin. The top ofthek corrugations 22 should also be Void of sharp corners and it hasbeen found that for metal stock of the thickness, referred to above, thewidth of the corrugations should be approximately 1/8" with a height'ofl approximately le" although corrugations having a Width ranging fromapproximately ls" to 1/4 may be employed with heights ranging-fromapproximately tei. to 1/8. The corrugations are preferably spacedrelatively close together, for example, between approximately 1/4 -andS/0n centers, although spaces 32 between the various series ofcorrugations ranging up to approximately one inch in width may be lef t`withoutany serious decreaseA in- Strength of the container. Such spacesare convenient for the application of labels, printing, etc.

As shown in Figs.v 1 and 4, the side seam ofthe container is preferablyalapped joint of` considerable width, for example i/g." to 1%." in whichthe corrugations of the underlying layer of metal 33 conform` to and fitthe corrugations of the overlying or upper layer of metal 3 4. Thecorrugations thus extend completely around the container body. The jointis preferably made with a thermoplastic adhesive, material 3 5 whichadheres Well to aluminum and which has a relatively high melting point.Various thermoplastic adhesive sealing compositions are available on themarket and the invention is not limitedl to anyt particular typeofthermoplastic sealing material. Asa specific example, a viny1copolymer may. be. employed. As described inl more detail below,4 theVthermoplastic sealing material may be appliedk in the form. of` asolvent solution to one I' both surfaces tobe adhered together andthesolvent then evaporated by a heat treatment. A specific example ofsuch a solvent solution. may be'vinyl copolymer 2.21/27@v by weight,andl acetone or methyl ethyl ketone sil/2% by weight. Tll

vinyl copolymer is tasteless and also is insoluble in aqueous solution.

Substantially all of the solvent is driven oui; before the sealingoperation is performed so that no deleteriousV taste is imparted tothecontents of' the container. Sealing may be accomplished by overlappingthe container edgesl and first pressing with a hot sealing member tomelt the adhesive between the surfaces to be` sealed and then pressingwith a cold pressing member until the thermoplastic cools to solid form.Although thermosetting resins such as phenyl aldehyde or urea aldehyd'eresins, or mixtures of such resins with thermoplastic resins, may beemployed in substantially thesame manner, the requisite curing time, ingeneral, renders such sealing materials impracticable for rapidfabrication ofj the containers.

For packaging milk and like food` products, it is extremely desirablethat the top of the container be substantially smooth and have noupstanding ridges around the edge thereof. A suitable joint forattaching the top of the container to the body thereof is shown in Fig.5, in which the, top 23 is double-seemed with the sidewall 2| so thatthe top and side walls have interlocking convolutions without producingan upstanding ridge. Methods for fabricating such joints are known andconsist of rst anging the upper edge of the open container outwardlysubstantially at right angles with a suitable forming or spinning tool,then applying the container top with its edges extending a shortdistance outwardly of the flange. The extending edge of the top is thenspun downwardly and under thefiange of thecontgainer and theY resultingoutwardlyl extending composite flange then spun downwardly against thecontainer side. The formation of such a joint with the thin sheetaluminum requires an inner support adjacent the top and during suchseaming operation the, container is ordinarily supported upon a mandrel.

For a milk' package, the top 23 is preferably provided- With a pair ofupstanding ribs or corrugations 38 formed in the top before it isapplied tothe container. The top is also preferably provided' with anelongated pouring opening 39 positioned' midway between the ribs 3 8yand having rounded ends. Theribs 3,8, provide a depression therebetweenfor receiving the sealing member 24, The, sealing member 2t preferablyhas an extending portion or tab 6i extending O Ver the top edge ofthepackage and downwardly against the side thereof; The sealing member 2limay be heldin position by anadhesive t2. The simplest manner of sealingthe container is to usea pressure sensitive adhesive which issubstantially odorless and' tasteless. Such pressure sensitive adhesivecompounds satisfactorily adhering to aluminum are commerciallyavailable,l In such cases, the sealingy member 24 may be made ofaluminum stock ofV substantially the samethickness as thatA ofthecontainer body.

The pressure sensitive adhesivel may be applied to the sealing member 2Aso as, to cover thefunder-surface of all portions ofj the sealing member24, but apreferred structure is to omit such adhesive on the surfaceofthe sealing member corresponding toy the pouring, openingk 3,9., Withthis structure, the sealing member may be appliedl to the container by asimple pressing operation after the container has been filled; It maybeA readily removed by. inserting a thumb or fingernail under the tab4-1 and tearing the sealingl member from the container top. The pres,-sure sensitive adhesive has the advantage o f ease in application andease in removal of the sealing memben but has the disadvantage of notbeing tamper-proofv in that the closure membermay be reapplied' WithoutAdifficulty soA as to show no indication off previous removal. I t isalso possible to employ athermoplastic adhesive similar to thatdescribedV with respect to the side seam 2 so as to heat-seal thesealing member 24 to the container top. The use of such a thermoplasticadhesive does render the container tamper-proof but does not permit theeasy reapplicationf o f the closure member after initial removaltoprevent undue contamination duringV storage and4 use of the remainingcontents. The ribs 38 notV only strengthen the top member to enableapplication of the sealing member but alsol protect the edges of theseal'- ing member against accidental removalv ofV the sealing member,and furthermore reduce the possibility of accumulation of contaminationaround the edges of the sealing member.

A modified type of top member (nl is shown in Fig. ''which isparticularly useful with a modified type of' sealing elemena such asshown in fening rib or corrugation 46 which is of U-shape extendscompletely around the sealing member 4l. As shown in Figs. l8 and 9, thestiiening rib 45 may have a substantially vertical inner edge 48 so asto tightly it the sealing member 41. Sealing member tl may be alaminated structure having an upper layer of foil or thin alu- .minumstock 9, an intermediate layer of WaX 5I and a lower layer of thinporous paper 52. The sealing member is applied within the opening formedby the rib 4S so as to cover the pouring opening 39 and a heated memberapplied against the metal upper layer 49. The wax iii is thereby meltedand penetrates through the porous paper 52 into contact with the metalof the cover te so as to seal the sealing member il to the cover. Thevertical longitudinal surfaces 38 of the ribs it also tend tofrictionally hold the sealing member lll in position and the rib dguards against accidental displacement of the sealing member el. Theform of the ribs it of Fig. 8 is also more effective in preventingaccumulation oi contamination around the edges of the sealing memberlll.

The sealing member 53 of Fig. 9 is also a laminated structure ofsomewhat more elaborate construction than the sealing member 41 of Fig.8. The sealing member 53 of Fig. 9 may have a metal upper layer 56. andan intermediate layer ol paper 5t secured to the metal layer 54 by meansof a high melting point adhesive 51 such as solid glue. The lowersurface of the upper layer 5@ may be coated with a layer of wax E8 Whichis in turn covered by a thin layer of porous paper 59. Upon applicationof heat to the Ametal layer 54, the Wai; carried by the paper 5 ismelted and penetrates the porous paper 59 to adhesively secure thesealing member to the container top 4e. The structure of Fig. 9 providesa somewhat stiffer sealing member, and also the Wax is more easilyapplied to the paper layer 5t adhesively secured to the metal 54 than itis directly to the metal layer 54. It Will be apparent that the form ofthe container top t# having the stiffening rib 46 may be employed withthe single metallic seal of Figs. 2 and 3 or 4that the container top 23having the sidestiifening ribs 38 may be employed with the sealingmembers of Figs. 8 and 9. One advantage of the form of the container top44 shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 is that an adhesive such as wax or athermoplastic resin may be employed to produce a tamper-proof containerwhich enables the closure or sealing member to be reapplied afterpartial use of the contents although the fact that the container hasonce been opened may be readily detected. In other words, uponreapplication of the sealing member, it is held in place by frictionagainst the vertical walls of the ribs d6 since the adhesive bond hasbeen broken.

Several of the more important steps in fabricating the container of thepresent invention are illustrated in Figs. l0 to 13, inclusive. It iscontemplated that the containers Will be fabricated at the point of use,i. e., at the filling plant, from a roll of thin sheet aluminum and fromtop and bottom members which have been previously cut and shaped at thecontainer factory. It is diiiicult to apply solvent free thermoplasticadhesive at the lling plant although it is possible to employ moltenadhesive or a thin separate ribbon of solid thermoplastic. Applicationof adhesive to the aluminum sheet at the container factory or aluminumrolling plant is therefore contemplated. It may be applied in the formof a coating of a solvent solution of the adhesive followed by a heattreatment to evaporate the solvent. The adhesive for the side seam 2l ofthe container is applied as a strip 6| along one lateral edge of thesheet of aluminum. Applying an adhesive strip along one edge of thealuminum sheet will, however, prevent even rolling of the aluminum intoa roll 62. A grid of adhesive made up of transverse strips 63 and alongitudinal strip of adhesive 6d can, however, also be applied to asurface of the aluminum sheet material. Such additional adhesive will,in general, perform no function in fabrication of the container but willenable the aluminum sheet to be uniformly and evenly rolled into theroll 52. By employing a considerable number of transverse adhesivestrips 63, it is possible to eliminate the additional longitudinal stripG4 of adhesive, and if the additional longitudinal strip td of adhesiveis employed it will ordinarily be spaced inwardly from the other edge ofthe metal sheet so that it will not be in contact with either the heatedpressing member during the sealing operation or under the heatedpressing member and in contact with the mandrel during such sealingoperation. The adhesive is preferably applied to one surface only of thealuminum but a corresponding grid of adhesive may also be applied to theother surface of the aluminum sheet so that both surfaces of thealuminum to be sealed together will be provided with adhesive.

The container is preferably constructed so that the grain of thealuminum extends vertically of the container body, i. e., thecorrugations are formed in the sheet G so as to extend transverselythereof. The longitudinal edges of the sheet form the seam 2? and thewidth of the sheet may be just suiiicient to form the container bodyincluding the seam 2'! or may be slightly wider to enable final trimmingof the edges of the container body blanks. Rolled aluminum sheetmaterial has a definite grain structure, and it has been found thatmaximum strength of the container is obtained when the grain runsvertically of the container, the corrugations 'being formed across thegrain.

The line along which the strip Ell is to be cut to form the containerbody blanks is indicated by the dash-dot lines 65 of Fig. 10, and itwill be apparent that the transverse strips t3 of adhesive may bepositioned such that they fall within the uncorrugated portions 32 ofthe container body shown in Fig. l although the thin layer of adhesivedoes not interfere with the ocrrugating operation such that the stripsmay be placed on portions of the sheet `which are thereafter corrugated.In the nally fabricated ccntainer, the additional adhesive representedby the transverse strips 53, as Well as the other longitudinal strips64, if employed, may be positioned internally or externally of thecontainer. The additional adhesive strips are, however, preferablypositioned externally of thecontainer, and the transverse strips B3 maybe employed as a protection for printing upon the aluminum. In otherwords, the adhesive coated strip fabricated at the factory may be firstprinted With appropriate labels in the areas underlying the transversestrips of adhesive 63 and the adhesive then applied and dried so as toprovide a protective iilm over the printing. The printed sheet may thenbe corrugated so that the printing with the accessi protective coatingoccupies uncorjrugated portions of the container ofFig. l.

The aluminum sheet 60, of- Fig.Y 10 may then be fed through corrugatingrolls E51Y and 58 (Fig. 1l) at the filling plant. One ofthe corrugatingrolls 6l may have projections E!! extending longitudinally of the rolland with depressions` 'il in the roll 58, the projections 69 andrecesses 'Il having the desired shape ofthe corrugations- 22 of'Fig'. 4.It is important that no substantial stretching; of the aluminum metaltake place during the corrugating operation since otherwise tearingofthe aluminum will almost inevitably occur. The forming rolls musttherefore be designed so that one corrugation inthe metal sheet issubstantially completely formed before the metal is gripped between the.surfacesA ofV theV rolls between the corrugations and before anysubstantial bending of the metal in forming the next corrugations takesplace. Thus in Fig. 1l, the strip may be fed toward the right betweenthe rolls 51 and 53. The corrugation being completely formedsubstantially on the line between the axis of the roll should beVsubstantiaily completed before. there is any gripping action of themetal between the surfaces ofthe rolls to the left of the line joiningthe axis of the rolls, and before there is substantial bendng of thesheet 5 0 byv the next projection 69 on the roll 61. Furthermore, themating projections 59. and recesses 'I f are preferabiy formed inaccordance with gear tooth design so that there is substantiallyrolling` contact` between the projections Sil and the metal being formedinto corrugations. Power is preferably supplied to both of the rolls todrive them in synchronism, and in order to insure accurate feeding ofthe strip, the surfaces of the rolls between the pro.- jections 69 andrecesses 'H should firmly grip the metal of the strip without, however,either cutting of the metal or causing substantial lateral orlongitudinal displacement thereof. It is possible to lightly knurl suchsurfaces to provide a better gripping action on the aluminum sheet butsuch knurling shouldA not be. sufficient to cause cutting or anymaterial stretching of the metal.

Although withv accurately formed corrugating rolls 5l and 68 itispossible to advance the formed sheet directly into the mechanism forforming the container body, the metal manyv times tends; to adhere toone or the other of the rolls so as to bend or otherv ise distort therolled sheet. It is therefore preferred to press the corrugated stripbetween dies` such as those diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. l2.Thus, the corrugated sheet from the rolls of Fig. 11 may be receivedupon a lower die 'l2 having recesses 'i3 formed therein corresponding tothe corrugations of the sheet and an upper forming `die la may bepressed downwardly against the sheet, the upper forming die havingprojections 'i6 also corresponding to the corrugations of the sheet. Ingeneral,- the corrugations must be substantially completely formedbefore the sheet can be subjected to a pressing operation such asillustrated in Fig. 12 as any attempt to completely form thecorrugations in an operation between such pressing dies requiresstretching of the metal resulting in tearing thereof. The pressing diesof Fig. 12 do, however, remove any inaccuracies in the strip andstraighten the same for the subsequent container body formingoperation-Since the top and bottom edges of the formed container body accuratelyfit the top and bottom covers, it is preferred to trim at least theleading and trailing edges of the container body blank while the same ispositionedbetween the pressing dies. 12; and if@ and for this. purpose.stationary knife blades 'il may be secured to the lower die 'i2 whilevertical reciprocal shearing blades '18 may be slidably secured to theupper die 14. After the corrugated sheet has been pressed between thedies, shearing blades 'i8 may be driven downwardly by any suitablemechanism to trim the leading and trailing edges ofthe blank. No attempthas been made to illustrate the operating mechanism for the rolls ofFig. 11 or the dies and knives of Fig. as such mechanism involvesmechanicai details forming no part of the present invention.

It will be understood that the metal being formed between the rolls ofFig. 1l may be stripped therefrom in any suitable manner, for example,by compressed air exhaustedfrom apertures in the circumferentialsurfaces' of the rolls through suitable ducts in the rolls and thatcompressed air may be employed for moving the corrugated material fromthe rolls ofv Fig. l1 into the dies of Fig. 12, and for stripping andforwarding the metal from the dies of Fig. 12 after opening of the dies.Thus for example, the metal may be stripped from thev dies 'l2 and 'M ofFig. l2 compressed air forced through suitable apertures in the faces ofthe dies. The metal strip may be cut into container-bo dy blanks eitherbefore corrugation in the rolls of Fig. ll or the trimming knives at theentrance end of the dies 'i2 and is of Fig. l2 may be employed to severthe blank from the strip; For mechanical reasons, its is somewhat easierto cut the blank from the strip before it enters the corrugating rollsof Fig. ll and then trim the blank in the pressing dies of Fig. 12, buteither method of forming the container body blank is contemplated. lfdesired, the side edges of 'the sheet may also be trimmed in thepressing and trimming operation of Fig. l2, but this is usually notnecessary.

After the pressing and trimming operation of Fig. 12, the container bodyblankv will4 be carried below the mandrel orhorn 8i diagrammaticallyillustratedin cross-section in Fig. 13. Although the mandrel 8l isindicated as being solid in Fig. 13, it will be understood that suchmandrel will ordinarily be aY collapsible mandrel as is conventional' inthe making of metallic containers. After the blank has been fed belowthe mandrel, it can be wrapped around the mandrel by any known orsuitable mechanism contacting the container body blank between thecorrugations 22 so that the container body portion 2| assumes its finalconfiguration about the mandrel 8|. It has been found that it isunnecessary to place corrugations completely around the mandrel 8|corresponding to corrugations 22 in the container body but that themandrel should have corresponding corrugations underlying the joint 21.It will be appreciated that the thermoplastic adhesive strip 6 l, whichwas originally placed along one edge of the sheet EQ of Fig. 10, willoccupy a position between the overlapped edges of a container blank atthe joint 2l. Ther heated presser member S2', either a solid shoe, or aroll fitting the corrugations in the container body, may be pressedagainst the seam or joint 2l to melt the adhesive 6I. The heated pressermember 32 may then be removed and a chilled presser member (not shown)may then be pressed against the same or joint 21 to rapidly cool theadhesive and thus complete the joint.

It has been found that the pressure, necessary tol make a satisfactorilyadhesive seam 28 has a tendency to cause the edge of the'underlyingportion of the container body to out the overlying portion, similarly,that the edge of the overlying portion of the ycontainer body has atendency to cut the underlying portion. Even though the metal or thecontainer body is only a few thousandths of an inch thick, it has beenfound desirable to provide clearance in both the mandrel 8l and thepresser member S2. Thus, mandrel 8i may be recessed, as indicated at 83,so that the upper surface of the underlying portion of the containerbody is substantially flush with the adjacent surface of the mandrel.Similarly, the presser member 82 may be recessed as indicated at Si sothat the lower surface of the overlying portion of the container body issub stantially flush with the adjacent surface of the presser member 82,it being understood that both the heated and cold presser members may besimilarly constructed in this respect.

After the container body portion has been formed as above discussed, oneend edge of the container body is preferably flanged outwardly while thecontainer is still on the mandrel 3i and then the container top appliedand a double crimped joint, such as shown in Fig. 5, formed between thetop and the container body by known or suitable mechanism. After the tcphas been applied, the mandrel may be collapsed and. the partially formedcontainer removed from the mandrel, for example, by a blast ofcompressed air through suitable ducts in the mandrel, and thereby movedinto a chuck holding the container body and exposing the open end of thecontainer. The bottom member of the container may then be applied byknown or suitable mechanism to form a joint similar to that shown inFig. 6. It will be understood that the preformed top and bottom membersmay have their edges provided with suitable sealing compounds known tothe art so that such compounds are positioned between the layers of thefinal seams shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The completed container may then besubjected to a sterilization opera tion and delivered to a fillingmachine in which a liquid material is introduced into the containerthrough the pouring aperture 39 and the sealing members 2li, l or 53applied thereto.

The thermoplastic adhesive for the side seam 2l as well as the sealingcompounds employed in the top and bottom seams can be selected so as tobe able to withstand the pasteurization temperature and the same may betrue of the adhesive selected for holding the sealing member over thepouring aperture. Pasteurization of such products as milk may then becarried on after the container is filled since rapid heat transferthrough the walls of the container is practicable both for heating andcooling operations.

The container of the present invention is particularly adapted for finalfabrication at the filling plant so that very little shipping space isrequired. It will be apparent that food products other than milk, orother products, for eX- aiuple, lubricating oil as well as solid orpowdered materials, may be packaged in containers of the general typedisclosed in the present application. The shape and size of thecontainer of course, be varied within relatively wide lim' s. Also, thecontainer may be round in utal cross-section or may be of generallyguiar shape instead of the substantially square container shown. Thecorners of the container should, however, have a Substantial radius ofcurvature, for example, a radius of at least 5/8 or 3/, to avoid anyexcessive stretch ing of the metal in making the bottom and top seams.Also in general, a container having a vertical dimension substantiallygreater than its horizontal dirnensi'or'il is preferred as maximumstrength is developed by such construction. It will be understood thatin the packaging of materials other than' liquid food products, forexample, lubricating oil, the top member of the container may also besimilar to the bottom element so as to dispense with a pouring openingand seal therefor. 'Such a top member may be lsecured to the" containerbody by a seam substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 6. A smoothtop surface is not required and opening of the container may beaccomplished by suitable tools. In any case, the structure of the bodyportion of the container, including the type of corrugations discussedat length above, irnparts the necessary strength to the container eventhough the container is constructed of thin sheet aluminum.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, it isunderstood that the details thereof may be varied within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

A sealed metal container of aluminum foil hav ing a thickness of fromabout 0.004 to about 0.006 inch thickness comprising a vertical tubularbody having a vertical seam sealed by an adhesive, said body beingprovided with a plurality of elevated strengthening corrugations havingan angle of curvature of about 4960 with the vertical body wall, saidangle being adapted to prevent stretching of the metal foil during theformation of said corrugations, a bottom seal disposed inwardly of saidtubular body and secured thereto by a turned-over bead, and a top Sealdisposed upon the vertical tubular body and secured thereto by a topturned-over bead, said top seal having a pair of spacedapart linearcorrugations having opposed substantially vertical inner walls betweenwhich there is located an aperture being closed by a sealing meinberdisposed between said linear corrugations and over a portion of said toptuned-over bead, said sealing member consisting of a multiple-plyaluminum foil structure secured together by ad Vhesive, said sealingmember being re-sealable by frictional engagement with the substantiallyvertical inner walls of the linear corrugations.

JULIAN L. REYNOLDS.

appearances CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 1,383 Wilson et al Jan. 6,1863 82,818 Fleming et al Oct. 6, 1868 364,417 Jaeger June 7, 1887881,871 Alexander Apr. 24, 1888 417,667 Crary Dec. 17, 1389 663,385Hobbs Dec. 4, 1900 1,174,833 Dougherty Mar. 7, 1916 1,315,394 Penn.Sept. 9, 1919 1,362,332 McGrath Dec. 14, 192) 1,367,379 Gruenberg Feb.1, 1921 1,623,618 Cook A pr. 5, 1927 (Other references on followingpage) UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date McCrery May 29, 1928McCrery July 8, 1930 Ladd Sept. 23, 1930 Embree Oct. 20', 1931 AllertonOct. 27, 1931 Boutin Oct. 25, 1932 Quarnstrom Jan. 24, 1933 Ashe Nov. 7,1933 Tear June 7, 1938 Schlumbohm Aug. 2, 1938 Hopkins Aug'. 22, 1939Mills et al. June 8, 1943 McClary Aug. 24, 1943 Sunderhauf Dec. 14, 1943Number Name Date Blessing July 15, 1947 Langer' Apr. 27, 1943 Reedy Feb.7, 1950 De Bruyne Feb. 28, 1950 Wesberg Oct. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTSCountry Date Great Britain Apr. 25, 1896 OTHER REFERENCES SteelPeriodical, September 11, 1944 (Patent Oce Library), article entitledJoining Aluminum Alloys" by Hartmann et al., pages 116, 156,

and 164.

